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Baby Rabbit Rescue - almost |
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In the suburbs of Washington DC, in the middle of our
campground, is a playground. Three days ago my boys came running in breathlessly
from that playground to inform me that they had found a baby rabbit.
I was a little skeptical. I
thought the baby rabbit could have been anything - a rat, a shrew - but sure enough, as I was heading out to
inspect their discovery my eight year old was walking toward me, gingerly
carrying a tiny rabbit, about three inches long, and it was alive. It was adorable, and the first thing out of
his mouth was, "Can I keep it?
No was the answer, but I was more concerned about where it
came from and what we were going to do with it.
I had them take me to where they found it. It was about two feet from the bottom of the
slide, and as we approached it I saw two more babies, and then another, just in
time to prevent the boys from stepping on them.
OK - now I was worried. They
were so small and they were exactly the color of the mulch they were nestled
in. A child playing could easily
overlook them and kill them. A dog on a
walk could find them and, well, it wouldn't be pretty. I wanted to make sure they would be
safe. So, the boys stood guard while I
called an animal shelter to see what we should do. The answer was, leave them alone. The momma rabbit would come back to nurse
them once or twice a day and we just needed to put them all back together in a
shallow nest where she could find them.
We did that. We also
called the campground office and told them about the babies. They came out with a cone and marked the spot
so that people in the playground would be aware of them. However, there wasn't much danger of people
accidentally forgetting they were there, as long as my eight year old was
around. Every time he saw someone on the
playground he would run out to warn them not to harm the bunnies. He was very protective of them. It was so sweet to watch.
Every morning he would run out in his pajamas to check on
them. This morning they were all gone. He was heartbroken. Wish I knew what happened.
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In March of 2008 our family of four (plus 1 dog) hit the road for a yearlong tour of the United States,
focusing on American History.
Come with us!
Through this website we’ll pass along how we homeschool on the road and
specifically what we’re learning about American history. In our newsletter we'll provide lesson plans and activity suggestions
so that you can learn along with us! 
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